Resolution
by Aramanthine
Summary: A shadow,a past and an inescapable fate: These three factors binds Zazie to his absolute demise.Slight AU.OOC Forgive the horrible summary.
1. Chapter 1

Left

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Right

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_The sickly scent of decomposing flesh filled his nostrils as he sank back under the water surface, drifting along with filthy, contaminated water which smelled like rotting milk left in the freezer for days and days to come. Surfacing once more, gasping for a mouthful of polluted air, he made a half-hearted attempt to padel his way towards what he thought was his ticket to freedom indicated by a faint, glowing light_.

_ha...ha...Almost..._

_His efforts were relinquished when something dragged him by his ankle into the dark depths below. Precious air escaped his lungs in the form of bubbles, reaching the surface he had once been faster then him. He arched his back down towards his knees to tear off whatever was interfering with his escape. Running his fingers along the length of his leg, he grabbed at the unknown. It wasn't long before he felt it...skin, there was no mistaking it, he felt it lots of times before and this time was no exception. Desperation and anxiety kicked in, forcing him to scratch at the humanoid organ which had itself binded around his left ankle.__ No...no..no no no NO!Not now! Not yet!i can't-_

.**.eaVe me...**

_Shrill, high-pitched voices interrupted his incessant chanting and sent chills down every bone he could possibly have in his small,vulnerable body_.

**Don't Leave ME...**

_This time round the voices were loud, coarse and pained as if someone had stabbed them repeatedly through with a stake. He never knew that sweating underwater was possibly up until now. The layer of skin wrapped round his ankle started to distort, gradually it formed the face of a little girl who looked no older than himself. Her face lacked many details: Her eyes were gone,leaving the eye socket empty and she didn't appear to have lips. The face haboured a sorrowful expression and an aura which screams help me radiated off her. He kicked his legs frantically, hoping that this could possibly dislodge her from his ankle so that he could get to the much needed air above._

**Be WITH me, don't Ever LEAve mE here AlOne aGaiN**

_The skin slithered up his body like an anaconda coiling its body around its prey, ready to crush the ribs. No sooner was the girls' face inches away from his own, mouth opening 180 degrees,engulfing his head completely. If he could scream underwater, he would have lost his voice by now. Squeezing his eyes shut,he awaits the moment his head falls prey to a bundle of skin. "What a retarded way to die."_

**

* * *

**

"GAH! *cough* What *cough* What the hell?

Zazie awoke with a start, with a _damp_ start. Before he could comprehend what was going on, he found himself dripping wet, thoroughly soaked from head to toe, his white undershirt clung tightly to his body, outlining his lean figure. Wasiolka lift her head up from where it was resting to stare at the bee before huffing and returning to her original position.

"Yeah! We got him! Hi-5!", a series of triumphant cheers could be faintly heard as the carriage round the corner.

"Those stupid kids! I'll drown them in their own tears!", Zazie sweared as he place a foot on the back of the carriage,ready to jump off and deliver the wrath of justice upon a couple of children giggling and laughing away, one of which was carrying a bucket.

A pair of small and fragile-looking hands wrapped themselves around Zazie's waist,denying him his will of bestowing "Heaven's Punishment" upon those immoral fools(AS seen by Zazie)."Aah! Z-Zazie,c-calm down!They didn't mean it!", the younger boy with silver hair and sepia colored eyes desperately persuaded the black haired individual to give up on his attempt to cause bodily and possibly mental damage. "Didn't mean it? Well, THIS looks to me that THEY definitely DIDN'T mean it!", Zazie exclaimed while pointing a finger at his drenched self and the other in the direction of the offenders _and what's that smell_.

Lag Seeing held his hands up in a placating manner and laughed nervously,"Chill, Zazie for now let's go back to the Beehive and get you some new clothes and..urgh..what did they pour on you". Lag shield his nose with his hand and uses the other to swat at imaginary flies,even Wasiolka and Niche moved several inches away from Zazie, limited by the available space on carriage. Zazie sweatdropped as Conner tucked the pizza he had been munching into his bag, appetite apparently robbed from him. Zazie pulled the collar to his nose, taking in a quick whiff before he let out a scream that filled the night sky of Yuusari Central.

_*Meanwhile*_

"Ahahaha! We got him good!"

"That Bee is going to have to scrub his scalp off if he wants the smell to dissipate! So,did we do it right, Ma'am?"

A hooded silhouette loomed over the mischievious children who had just dumped a large heap of god-knows-what on a particular and unfortunate Bee. Mouth half open in glee, the hooded stranger gave each of the children a bag filled to the brim with jingling gold coins. Hurling numerous gold coins into the air, giggling like a madman and counting their loot, the pack of greedy children skipped off, prize in hand, leaving the hooded stranger alone in the dark, dank alleyway, her grin widening with every second. Turning to proceed deeper into the shadows of the alley, a soft eerie tune could be heard.

** Step by step**

** Twilight's the color we painted **

** While the disappearing sky becomes paler and paler**

** Even if the seasons have repainted the entire scenery**

** I will find you.**

"Subject 3".

* * *

The petite boy had his palms clamped shut over his ears to shut out the sound of table and chairs connecting with human flesh and bone,yelling overpowering the ruckus that was currently occurring inside the Director's room. "Sounds bad, do you think Zazie will make it out in one piece?", Lag had to shout in order to get his message across to the others, also mimicking his action. "He might come out in half or a third, like how Steak would be in a few hours time at lunch", Niche, using her golden locks, plucked Steak off her head and positioned him in front of her,"Be proud, ol' Steak, your going to be the greatest lunch Amberground has ever seen!".

"N-nuu..Nunini!", Steak saluted with all his might as Niche set him back atop of her head. The door burst open so violently that it was left dangling on its hinges whilst a Bee, buttons still undone, dashed out and waved his one hand over his head at the gang, screaming,"Go,go,go,go,go!" at the top of his lungs.

On que, the lot of them turn heels and raced off with the Sub-Master close behind, hefting a table and hurling it at them. Niche effortlessly leaped past the hallway, down the stairs and out the door but not before Lag noticed the usual,"P-p-p-pants! Niche,where's your underpants? Put on some underpants!" Miraculously dodging the thrown table, Lag dug out a spare underpants from inside his bag and scrambled after Niche. Wasiolka had picked up its stumbling owner and followed suit. It wasn't long before they successfully evaded the fuming ex-Bee's fist of fury and arrived in the outskirts of Yuusari Central.

"That woman is a devil reincarnated in the form of a human! I can't believe she threw a sofa at me the minute I stepped in! That thing weighs a ton, how in the world did she even lift it?", Zazie complained as he buttoned up his jacket and adjusted his hat, patting away invisible dust on his pants,"Where's Conner by the way?".

"Conner went on a delivery when you were still being uhrm... interrogated", replied Lag,who had somehow managed to get Niche all underpants-equipped.

"S'that so? Then let us be on our way too", Zazie said as he held a letter in between his thumb and index finger,wagging it up and down playfully,"We're heading to a small village call Grendel in Southern Yodaka and the recipient is...Wha-". The sudden pause peaked Niche's interest, bouncing over beside Zazie,she snatched the envelop and stared hard at the words, "an...tyre...vi..ledge? Lag, I think the sender must've be a really lonely person,to only have a tyre as a friend", Niche pointed out,somewhat proud of herself. Lag, dumbfounded by Niche's deduction, took a look at the letter himself and his eye(s) went wide.

_ The Entire village population of Grendel_

"Are they joking? A single letter to be delivered to over 1,300 people? Really! I've had it with today, first,some snot-nosed brats poured, i don't know, acid? on me resulting in Sub-Master Aria Link nearly flattening me with household furniture and now we're supposed to deliver a letter to waaaay too many recipients! Urgh, come on, Wasiolka, let's go", the raven-colored panther huffed before proceeding to follow Zazie back into Yuusari Central, probably back home.

"But, Zazie, wait! There might be an important message in the letter for the folks and besides..".

"It's a Letter Bee's duty to deliver the hearts of letters to people!"  
"It's a Letter Bee's duty to deliver the hearts of letters to people, right? I got it, I got it!", Zazie chorused, scratching the back of his head. There was always something with the 12 year old boy's very focused mindset, regardless of what situation he gets into and always puts his heart and soul into delivering the package, that suppresses his finely honed Gaichuu-hunting skills and to go letter-delivering. "Let's just get this over with so that i can take a loooooooong nap", Zazie yawned ,stretching his arms and legs.

"Okay!"

"Although i really don't want to be home in time for dinner", added Niche as she sprang forward, gracefully soaring over mountain-like rocks.

"On a second thought, let's this nice and slowly"

_nod _


	2. Chapter 2

"One, two, three..."

Near silent counting acted as noise for the cool, dark atmosphere, lacking the presence of humanity except for a lone figure sitting atop of the highest rocks, legs kicking and swinging to the beat.

"Four, five, six, seven and...what came next? That's simple. A little worker Bee, how busy busy busy~", extending a hand out, fingers curled to resemble a gun,"BANG! And down the Bee goes~ Hehehe~ Time to relieve me of my boredom~". The shadow launched itself off of the rock and towards the direction of a moving carriage traveling through a tight crevice in between the mountains.

**It's Party time~!**

* * *

The glow radiating off the giant hunk of armor lit the slightly tired faces of the two traveling side by side progressing slowly but surely on their path, disturbance occurring more often than usual, dingos paying close attention to their surroundings for signs of sudden attacks.

Noticing the younger lagging behind, the older turns to urge him on by lightly tugging on his shoulder, giving him a slight boost in speed. Town in sight, the two heaved a sigh of relief, morale perking up as they get closer and closer to their destination.

Low rumbling in the soft soil indicates their unwanted adversary approaching. It seems that the hour of rest is still a far away moment for the Bees.

Jumping clear of the Gaichuu erupting from the ground from whence they had been standing not minutes ago, it began all over again, a cycle which had repeated itself countless times on this one journey, seemingly unnatural for a non-Gaichuu territory and being so close to town.

With only a tad bit of difficulty, the Gaichuu shined a brilliant light like the many before it, empty armor exploding and crumpling into a heap on the ground. Moving back onto the similar route as before, panting as they approached the entrance to the village.

Despite being a small village in Southern Yodaka, the buildings and structure were of good quality, having signs of recent re-construction, each house having at least a backyard and fencing, a rare sight for a settlement in Yodaka, the poorest district of Amberground. The villagers were of different caliber too, all dressed nicely in, hell, even expensive-looking, tuxedos and bow tie for men, some even wielding on of those walking cane, ladies wearing beautifully fluffed prom dresses with sun hats and small purse-like bags.

Upon stepping into the village, each step resounding off the marble flooring, yes marble flooring, staring in awe at the man-made marvel which seemed like a cut-out from a movie.

"A-are we in the right place?", Lag pondered as he nearly tripped on the nicely carved pavement decorations, each smoothed to shine in the night light.

"Either that or we died", Zazie whistled at the golden fountain in the middle of the square, sprouting crystal clear water.

"The Beehive is a dump compared to this place", Niche criticized, shoes going squeak-squeak on the over-polished roof, slipping once or twice.

"Ah, are you gentlemen Letter Bees?", a raspy voice boomed from behind. Facing the plum, round man dressed in a well pressed suit, swinging his diamond-embedded cane skillfully on his index finger with the other smartly brushing his mustache curling at the tip. _Looks like Conner in a few years' time_ , Zazie thought, smirking secretly in his mind.

"Uhm..Y-yes, sir. We're here to deliver this lette-"

"A letter? Well, you may hand it to me. I am the mayor of Grendel, Marco Celibyes, pleased to meet you boys", the obese man cut Lag off and promptly snatched the letter from his hands using a silver-embroidered handkerchief. "Wouldn't want my hands to get dirty now, would we? Let's see..".

_Che, what a self-righteous bastard, how i would give to see him get his fats pummeled out of him and-_

Zazie's fantasizes were interrupted by a terror-filled shriek which came from the overweight man now on his butt, quivering in fear and disgust, eyes so wide that they could pop out at any moment, staring at the letter now a few meters away.

"A-are you alright?", Lag ran over and leaned down, helping the man up but was quickly swat away by the cane the man was waving about, missing his left temple by an inch if not for Niche pulling him back. In a matter of seconds, Marco was sweating bullets with Niche's swords pressing up against his throat, glaring at him with her aquamarine eyes.

"Don't you dare lay a finger on Lag if not I'll slice your balloon head off!".

"Aah! Niche, you mustn't hurt people!", came the familiar phrase said many times over.

Reluctantly, Niche drew back her swords shooting another glare at Marco before retreating to Lag's side, unaware of the crowd slowly forming around them.

Murmurs and whispering transfused within the crowd, Marco already up and hastily explaining to the other villagers. Questions shrouding their minds, the Bees engaged in their own discussion.

"What was up with that? Its like he had a sudden spasm"

"Niche doesn't like them"

"Nuni!"

"See, even Steak says so"

"He only freaked when he flipped the letter over", Lag turned the letter over to the side with the seal attached. The seal was in the shape of a hat with _'M'_ printed on it, a dark shade of emerald green in color.

"_M? _Could it be the senders-"

Lag jumped when a hand touched his shoulder, Niche reacting immediately, pointing her swords at a middle-aged man who shouted in fright. "Hold on, hold on, wait don't kill me! I-I-I just wanted to take a look at the letter you have there".

Handing the letter over to the man who took it with shivering hands, Lag stepped back, awaiting to see the man's reaction.

As expected, the man screamed in horror, shoving the letter back to Lag before racing off in the opposite direction, all while saying : It's back, It's back, It's back!

_What's back?_

Needless to say, there was no one to help explain that as soon the villagers had all picked up weapons and brandished it at the clueless bunch.

* * *

Breathing becoming more and more ragged, blood seeping into his squinty eyes, blurring the person in front of him. Using the last of his strength to throw a landmine which came no where near the now hysterically laughing figure.

"Y-you're...w-w-with...R-Re..ver..se?", he spoke unconsciously, coughing violently after, the taste of metal flooded his senses.

"Reverse? Che, don't compare me with the lot of them, foolish fools who only know howda herd together like a pack of weaklings should", the stranger had once again thrown her head back in laughter, whether at his plight or at the 'fools' he did not know for his vision was rapidly fading.

"Aa~ah, dying already? You're no fun to play with~but no matter~I'll be a good Samaritan and put and end to your misery!~You can thank me in your afterlife~Cheerio~"

An evil glint shone in her crimson eyes as she waved childishly before swinging it down upon the broken body of a Bee beneath her.

"Lag...Zazie...r..run"

* * *

"Nngaaaahh! How did...this HAPPEN?", Zazie complained as he evaded yet another arrow meant for his head, dodged spear thrusts and flare from flamethrowers.

Sprinting for nearly an hour, Zazie had almost covered the entire land of Grendel, separated from Lag, he was now stuck with Niche together with his dingo, Wasiolka. Filling in the role of screaming at Niche not to hurt the villagers in place of Lag, he was now reaching his physical limits.

The villagers had suddenly attacked them for no apparent reason, not that they know of any, and chased them around town for the past hour, trying to burn or rip the letter. Speaking of said letter, Zazie rummaged through his pockets and bag, realizing the letter was still with Lag and that he had gone through vigorous exercises for the past hour for nothing.

Skiddling to a halt, Zazie put both his hands in front of him and declared," Look! The letters not with me so there's no point of chasing me any longer so sto-"

A battle axe breezed over his head, smashing into the house causing debris to come flying out, hitting the man squarely in the face.

Unable to contain his frustrations anymore, Zazie reached for his gun, pointing it at the villagers, anger boiling inside him.

"You want a fight! Then its a fight you'll get, people!"

Niche descended beside him, eyebrows raised," What happened to not hurting people?"

"Ditch it! Rules were meant to be broken! We'll explain it to Lag later!"

Niche readied her stance as the battle between Bee and angry villagers commenced.

* * *

Peering over the hedge, Lag had a good view of the villagers, darting about here and there looking for him and Zazie. Sighing, he settled back onto the grass before trying to access the situation. He didn't have Niche with him so he can't just go bursting out. Lag pulled at his hair as he thought hard for a solution for this dilemma.

1. He could always give the letter to the villagers but it may end up with him getting killed or toasted.

2. Make a mad dash towards the exit but with no guarantee him making it out alive.

3. (...)

That's right, he hadn't thought about option 3 yet and he didn't have the time as the bush he had been cowering behind was sliced off by a roaring chainsaw. Rolling out of harms way, Lag stumbled to his feet beginning the chase yet again.

_pant...pant...pant...I wonder how Zazie and Niche are doing, I hope their not causing any trouble_.

An explosion caught Lag's attention, smoke rising up from the eastern area, a tiny stroke of blue light poking out from the top._ I told them not to destroy the village!_

The route ahead had been occupied by a mob of _vicious_ looking men, all carrying dangerous-looking weapons. Completely surrounded and outnumbered on both ends, Lag scanned the area for an escape route. The men closed in on him, weapons raised, ready to deliver a fatal blow to the boy. Lag blocked the first few blows with the Nocturne and swiftly dodged the incoming ones. Spotting a gap in between the men, he charged at it, breaking free of the death ring if not for the decoration on the pavement.

Tripping and earning himself a few cuts and bruises, the fall had given the men enough time to once again swing their weapons down onto the boy. Squeezing his eyes shut for the blow which never came, the sounds of weapons hitting the marble flooring beside him and the wheezing and coughing of the men made him open his eyes, a stinging sensation filled his nerves as he coughed and sneezed. _Wha- smoke bomb?_

Lag felt a hand on his mouth and waist as he was lifted off the earth and slung over a shoulder. His line of sight was elevated to a point whereby he found it similar to the height he was at when he stood on the chair in Sylvette's house.

Dumped unceremoniously onto a pile of garbage, Lag shook his head to clear the brief headache he had. Staring at one spot on the floor, the dizziness slowly faded away and it came to him that he had just been saved. Raising his head the thank the stranger for his help, Lag felt a lump in his throat, a big one, as the person got registered in his groggy mind.

"Gauche..."

Said person stared down at the silver-haired boy with gleaming sepia eyes before squatting down to his eye-level, hands out-stretched. Lag accepted it and was pulled to his feet, still unable to keep his eyes away from the man who inspired him to be who he was today. A lone girl stood on the roof, on the lookout for any signs of danger while at the same time observing the interaction below.

"Lag Seeing, it would be greatly appreciated if you would hand over the Witches' letter without a struggle", _Oh right, he's Noir now...wait, what?._

"Could you say that again?"

"I thought I made myself clear, I said it would be greatly appreciated if you would hand over the Witches' letter without a struggle, now was that clear enough?", Noir repeated slowly as if to a three-year-old, hands out-stretched once again.

"Witches' letter? Uhm...Gau-Noir, would you mind explaining to me what is going on?", Lag pleaded with his puppy-dog eyes, a skill he learned from the Director when in danger of being dissected Dr. Thunderland Jr. It was really useful.

Exhaling, Noir found a broken but usable folding chair and sat on it,"It's only a little but from what I heard that letter was written by a Witch. The Memory Witch to be exact".

"Memory...Witch", repeated Lag, sitting cross-legged across Noir, listening tentatively.

"Yes, and this particular Witch grants any wish made by any person in exchange for a fragment of their memory, the size of the fragment depending on the level of the wish requested."

_nod_

_"..."_

_"..."_

_"..."_

_"_That's it?"

"That's it."

"But-"

"Lag Seeing, I told you I only know a little regarding this matter and now if you'll excuse me".

Spinning the letter in his hands, Noir proceeded to leave the dumpster. "Aah! Since when...W-wait!", Lag reached out to grab Noir's cloak before a dagger sunk into the ground, his fingers reflected on the blade.

"Roda!"

"Leave it at that, Lag Seeing", she threatened before she pulled the dagger out and pointed it inches away from Lag's visible eye. Tucking the dagger safely away, the marauder-duo disappeared from sight.

* * *

A/N: Merry X'mas ! and blehh this was a horrible chapter TT^TT sorry if it didn't live up to ur expectations and ty for ur reviews! (=w=)d they were gr8!~~


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